My dear kitten
by chloemcg
Summary: MiaXDiego. One-shot. About a month after Mia's horrific and tragic first trial, she struggles with how to keep herself and her emotions in check. Can her one and only partner, Diego Armando, help her feel a sense of happiness again?


**Disclaimer: I would NEVER own the characters of Ace attorney, they belong to Capcom.**

 **My dear kitten**

* * *

It was a wild and stormy night in Japanifornia and the winds were fierce and whipping about like a gale force while the rain came down with the forcefulness of a hammer. The clouds were thickly melded together so it wouldn't reveal the actual skies behind them, anyways it was practically black —it was as if someone had thrown a bottle of ink in the sky and thunder rumbled ominously in the distance.

Diego Armando, attorney at law, had always liked this sort of weather. He liked the sensation of the rain wetting his wild, spiky raven locks. He liked feeling the rain on his face as the drops trickled down his cheeks. He liked the bitter, morose blackness that storms like this could sometimes bring; Dark, wet, rather lonesome, could be depressing if in the right mood, nostalgic and a mood that made his heart feel as though it were blacker than a moonless night, hotter and more bitter than hell itself.

It all reminded him of coffee.

And of the gorgeous Mia Fey...

The young man observed closely while the storm raging out the window of his workplace went on and on for what felt like an eternity as he sat perched at his office desk, lounging about lazily on his comfortable desk chair. He had both arms leaning heavily against his desk which was stacked to the brim with case files, bags of evidence and left over mugs from his previous caffeine binge.

He commented, his gaze flickering back and forth from the window, "It's raining cats and dogs outside..."

He sipped a hug of coffee as he closed his eyes and let the aroma of coffee beans fill his nostrils and the taste of bitterness overflowed through his mouth and tastebuds. He adored the taste of caffeine and he loved the burst of energy he would get with every sip...but this taste of coffee didn't bring him any joy this time, instead it just reminded him of his inner turmoil.

He started to reminisce, especially about what was currently his state of affairs.

He had always been intrigued when beautiful young women would sign up at the Grossberg law offices where he worked —they would come and go, whether they wanted to come and work or simply came to ask the big boss, Mervin Grossberg, to come and assist them with a law matter. He was quite a young man and he considered himself to be a stallion in his prime...but that was until he laid his eyes on one Mia Fey for the very first time.

She was the most stunning beauty he had ever seen.

It had only been a month since the pretty fledgeling defense attorney had confronted Dahlia Hawthorne and it had been a very intense trial but only for it to end in the most traumatic way possible: Mia's client, Terry Fawles, had killed himself on the stand just as he was about to be declared innocent. It was the very first time she stood in court but it had left a deep, dark hole in the young woman's heart that simply refused to close up.

Mia just didn't seem right since then.

The reminder made the coffee-loving lawyer cringe. He flinched when he grasped the handle of his mug in his injured hand, still feeling the sting that bit away at the palm of his hand each time he had been holding _anything_ lately —but what could be expected after squeezing a mug so hard that it shatters into a billion shards and pieces and then having ones hand bleed afterward?

Every time she arrived inside the office to do some work, she would have this air of sadness about her. She would appear to try and cheer up whenever she would come in and would wear this false smile that always made Diego's heart clench and it made his gut feel absolutely wretched; he despised seeing any sort of frown on the face of the woman he loved.

He would have given all the coffee in the world to see her genuinely happy again.

"Miss Fey. You certainly look stunning this fine day."

Upon hearing this, Diego perked his head and whirled around to face the source of the conversation that was starting just a foot or so away from where he was still sat at his desk. His eyes lit up when he caught sight of both Robert Hammond and the lovely Mia Fey stood in front of each other, oblivious to the fact that he was observing them.

"Oh, uh, thanks, Robert," Mia replied, clear unease leaking from her forcibly upbeat voice, "That's really...nice of you to say.."

Robert only chuckled haughtily.

"You're very welcome! Say...why don't you and I team up for a case some time? I would say that we would work splendidly together."

If the lawyer saw that Mia was clearly uncomfortable with the flirting then he didn't show it in the slightest, nor did he have a clue that Diego was watching from a short distance away with a darkening expression as he continued trying to seduce _his_ partner. The long-haired beauty backed away from Hammond a bit, her big false smile faltering. She hadn't liked Robert Hammond much since he did have rotten methods of getting "Not guilty" verdicts, and everyone in the office knew of his selfish nature, plus there was something about him she always disliked.

Even looking at him made her stomach twist in a bunch of loops and knots.

"Oh. Sorry but you're not my type." She shook her head, trying to be as polite as possible.

But Robert still didn't get the hint.

He leaned closer to her, violating her personal space.

"C'mon, Mia, if you stuck by me then maybe I could... _erase_ that amateur mistake you made in that courtroom?"

If Mia were in her right state of mind then she would have hesitated before doing something completely rash and reckless —she would hear a little voice in the back of her mind, objecting to her doing something that she would regret later and she would clearly listen to it.

But she wasn't in her right state of mind.

It was before she could even think clearly that the spirit medium/attorney-at-law found that she had rolled her hand into a fist, thrust it fist forwards and it ended up colliding with his face and she watched as Hammond tumbled to the ground with one hand firmly applying pressure to his nose.

Mia was in a state of shock.

She hadn't even registered properly what was going on before rage overwhelmed her.

"D-Don't you even think about saying things like that!" She yelled as she towered over the shellshocked man on the floor, "Did you even know how horrible that was!? Seeing an innocent man die right in front of you when you were just seconds away from saving them from an unjustified death?! I almost set him free! It killed me to see that. But this is _hardly_ the time for me to get in any romantic pursuits, especially with someone like you...!"

"That's enough!"

That loud, booming, authoritative voice immediately caused Mia's rage simmer down as all previous signs of fury melted away like snow melting away by some intense Summer sunlight. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell agape as her long chestnut brown hair flipped as she moved to look at the source of the voice. She turned on her feet to see that the one and only Marvin Grossberg was standing behind her and had been watching the entire scene unfold and she cringed to see the disappointment written all over his face.

Marvin sighed and shook his head but the look of plain disappointment never left.

"Ms. Fey...please come in my office." He commanded surprisingly gently.

Mia lowered her head and sighed, raising her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose as her facial features tightened slightly due to shame. She hadn't even realised that tears had formed and spilled down her face until she felt her now-damp cheeks. She didn't hesitate to do what she was told and walked off to go and meet with Grossberg and take the punishment for her actions.

When she left, though, Robert still sat on the floor in a bit of a daze for what felt like an eternity until he finally collected his bearings and gave a dismissive yet angered scoff. He couldn't believed that he was turned down like that! And so rudely too! He started to climb to his own two feet and it didn't take too long before he was almost back to a fully-standing position...but he was swiftly knocked back down to the ground by an unseen force. Before he had time to even wonder who or what it was that made him fall again, he heard a somewhat familiar voice speak to him.

"A true man should never insult a lady by invading her personal space. That's one of my rules."

It took Robert only a millisecond after hearing this that he realised that the one speaking to him was none other then the one and only Diego Armando.

Diego snarled, bending down to meet his level while wearing the most threateningly menacing of scowls as he gripped Robert's shoulder hard with his good hand. He squeezed it so hard that it was a miracle that it didn't come straight out of the socket but the coffee-loving attorney couldn't risk getting suspended from work due to being an idiot...but that didn't mean that he also couldn't give his own two cents. Acidic darkness seeped into his tone as he growled with his voice just as ominous as the storm that shook the world outside.

"Now that we got that out of the way, let me give ya a little warning. Stay. Away. From. My. Kitten."

Robert simply gulped and nodded, obviously intimidated his mildly-Spanish-accented colleague.

Diego released his work colleagues shoulder and stood straight back up before he started to storm back to his desk where his piping brew of coffee awaited him.

When he sat himself down in his comfortable leather chair he reached over and clasped the handle of his precious mug and proceeded to raise the rim of it to his lips and he took a sip. He closed his eyes and sighed relaxedly through his nostrils when he, once again, felt the hot beverage overwhelm his tastebuds with its peculiarly bitter taste.

Oddly enough, though, the coffee tasted even more bitter then before.

Several thoughts formed in his mind as he contemplated on what he should be doing. He knew that he had to try and make his beautiful companion feel a lot less traumatised by what happened a month ago in that courtroom. He knew he wouldn't be able to get rid of that awful memory and it would probably stay with her for a very, _very_ long time. But he couldn't let that stop the person most precious to him from ever going back into a courtroom again. He had hoped to try and somehow dull the edge of the sharp dagger of guilt that jabbed him in the heart repeatedly.

But then inspiration struck him like a massive bolt of lightning, kind of like the lightning snapping outside right now.

He smirked when a brilliant idea had started to form in his mind.

Perhaps he could give Mia the break that she needed...

* * *

Mia couldn't have felt more miserable then she had after she had been sent home early. She felt her heart plummet to an all-time-low as it seemed to have settled in her stomach...or that's how it felt to her, the weather certainly wasn't helping lift her downcast mood. She could feel the rain pelt her body, feeling like teeny, tiny, icy daggers piercing her skin and her long brown hair hung abnormally in front of her face.

All she could think about was the conversation from earlier.

Marvin had a stern talk with her, but he decided to be lenient with her and let her have a week off so she could get her ducks in a row. He, in the meantime, had decided to have a second stern talk with that Robert Hammond fellow about his flirtatious behaviour. The lawyer heaved a deep breath that she had no idea that she had been withholding until now. Her whole body felt heavy and she almost felt as though she could melt to the ground and it would swallow her up whole. She tried her hardest to keep herself upbeat but that memory of seeing Terry Fawles collapse at the witness stand would just haunt her whenever she would make an attempt at trying to be happy and not let it get to her.

It felt as though seconds ticked by until she finally arrived at the door to her terrace house.

Mia stood in front of it for what felt like eternity until she reached forwards and grabbed the doorknob, but that was when she heard something coming from behind the door. The spirit medium lawyer's eyes widened as she deduced that the sounds coming from inside her house appeared to be...music? Without holding back, she grabbed the house key from her back pocket, dig it into the keyhole, unlocked the door, gripped the doorknob and twisted it.

The door opened.

Mia was dumbfounded at what she saw before her.

The main room had been decorated as a warm atmosphere hung in the air. A small yet warm fire flickered in the fireplace as it cast a low ember low in the room. The lights had been dimmed to create a soft-lit setting as the floor had rose petals scattered across the floor. Slow, romantic Jazz music played in the background.

The lawyer was stunned.

She had a feeling that she knew who was behind this, and she was quickly proven correct.

Out came Diego, with a gentle yet charismatic smile on his face. He was actually dressed quite nicely; he was wearing an ebony black vest with a white shirt beneath it, some matching pitch black trousers and he had a bright crimson bow tie was wrapped around his neck. His hair seemed to have been attacked with a comb...or, at least, it was attempted —it just looked more untamed and crazy then it had been ever before.

Mia's mind was racing with questions.

 _"Why was Diego here?"_

 _"Did he use the key she lent him to get in or do something crazy and illegal?"_

 _"Why did he decorate the house?"_

 _"What was with the romantic atmosphere?"_

 _"Why did Diego dress so nicely? Was it a special occasion?"_

She was so confused that she hardly even noticed that Diego walked over to her and stood in front of her, he looked really charming and Mia didn't know what it was about him but just seeing him like this made her heart race hard in her chest. It felt as though her heart was planning on making a desperate bid for freedom.

"Would you care for a dance, partner?" He asked, offering his hand out towards her.

Mia seemed awestruck as she seemed to contemplate her answer to his offer. To be honest, she really wasn't in the mood for having any sort of interactions right at this moment, especially after everything that just happened. She just wanted to be left alone in solitude where she could be left alone with her thoughts.

"Aw, Diego...I don't think I-" She found herself unable to finish her sentence after finding herself caught in his mesmerising gaze, her heart started to pound even harder.

It didn't take long after that before a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips and she finally took his hand in hers. Diego placed his other hand and furled it gently around her waist, his pale blue eyes softened considerably as he started to slowly spin around on the spot and he drew his dearly beloved close to him. He flinched when he felt the sutures tying one of the cuts on his bandaged-up left hand start to throb and sting painfully, like a pair of cobra fangs were digging themselves into his wounds.

He hissed painfully beneath his breath.

Mia quickly noticed his discomfort and drew away slightly, not backing out of the man's embrace by any means, but still looking at him with the purest of concern written all over her face. She didn't wish to hurt him but she didn't have the chance to ask him whether he was alright since he just flashed her a huge, kind-hearted, charming smile that seemed to shine brighter then a beam of moonlight.

The two danced around slowly the room, their breathing syncing up until they were simultaneous. Neither one of them could look away from each other as they felt like nothing else mattered in the whole wide world except for their respective other. Diego looked at Mia as though she were the biggest diamond he'd ever laid his eyes on while the latter looked at him with just as much love in her eyes.

They didn't want this priceless moment to end.

Diego and Mia glided across the room with grace, Mia never felt comfortable with dancing since she had never really got a chance to do this often since she had left her little village of Khurain and felt very much out of her comfort zone but it was different when she was with _him_ because when she happened to be in his presence, she felt safe and like she could do anything. She even felt even the smallest hint that everything could be alright. Her feet traversed the wooden floor as she slid across the room with much poise, following her partner's lead. She had a loving gaze trained upon Diego's eyes.

It felt like ages until Mia asked, "Hows your hand?"

Her partner just shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly in response.

"Eh. It hurts to grab stuff sometimes but I'm good otherwise."

A flirtatious smirk spread across his face as he whirled Mia on her heels, flinching again thanks to the pain in his left hand, but he tried not to allow it to sweep across his face and thankfully she didn't seem to notice. The two carried on dancing the night away, letting the slow jazz music be their guide. He wanted nothing but to treat his love to a good time because of how stressed she had been lately. He wished to see her properly smile again and he promised to do whatever it took to make that happen...but he noticed that she still appeared to be forcing each and every smile he would see come from her.

He frowned softly.

"Mia...you don't need to force a smile for me, I promise."

Mia's face fell flatter then a ducks foot.

"But isn't the worst of times when a lawyer has to force their biggest smile...?"

Her question was replied to with a shake of the head.

"Yes, Kitten, but this _isn't_ in court."

The 24-year-old woman glanced down at the floor as though ashamed or something. She felt her heart sink once again like a boat floating on massive waves of the ocean with a whopping hole in it. She should have known that Diego would see right through her front, he did know how to read her like an open book.

She closed her eyes and hung her head...only to be shocked once again when she felt a finger sneak underneath her chin and lift her head so her eyes could meet Diego's. She was floored when she saw a kind and compassionate smile on his face as he leaned forwards and gently pressed his own forehead against hers."

"It's fine if you don't wanna step back in court now or tomorrow or next week or, heck, even in a few years time. It will take time for you to truly heal after what happened thanks to that Hawthorne witch. But, when you do step back in that courtroom, my precious kitten, I will be standing right there alongside you all the way...no matter what."

He murmured to her with as much affection and reassurance as he could muster, pulling his forehead away so he could look her in the eye once more. Mia had tears forming in her eyes, she must have started to feel a bit weepy due to how emotional she had been lately. The coffee-loving lawyer gently held her face in the palms of his hands, gently cradling her cheeks in either hand, and he used the edges of his thumbs to wipe any tears away.

"We'll take down whatever comes our way together..."

Mia sniffled softly.

"You promise?"

Diego smiled and proceeded to lean forwards and plant a soft kiss atop her head.

"Lo prometo..."

The two exchanged a long silence before Diego pulled Mia closer to him and wrapped both of his arms around her so she could cling on to him as much as she needed to as she held him as tightly as she possibly could. She nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck and she felt nothing but love for Diego Armando right now; certainly he was a coffee addict and he had a lazy attitude that tended to get on her nerves at times but, whenever she needed him, he was there.

He was sort of like her guardian angel.

Not even the storm thundering outside mattered right now.

Diego couldn't help but feel the slightest hint of a smile tug at the corners of his lips as he tentatively caressed her face with his good right hand. His heart couldn't stop racing, seriously, it felt as though it were about to explode.

He leaned close to her ear and said the first thing that came to his mind:

"I love you, my sweet kitten..."

* * *

 **A/N: Here's a new story for you guys and it's the first Miego** **story I have done in awhile.**

 **If I were to imagine good old Diego Armando/Godot speaking then I guess he would have a Spanish accent. I also decided to put Robert Hammond in this story because I think it was mentioned that both him and Mia were work colleagues and I also wanted some Godot and Mia romance.**

 **These two are one of my fave couples in all of the AA and so I decided to dedicate this story to them.**

 **Hope you enjoy this story, guys!**

 **-Chloemcg**


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